22: Chapter 22 Shiho Miyano's Decision

The reception room of Lins Office was filled with the faint aroma of coffee, and sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting warm patches of light on the floor.

Miyano Shiho sat on the velvet sofa with her back straight, holding the black coffee Lin Long had just poured for her; the swirling steam blurred her delicate yet slightly distant profile.

After a night of rest, she had changed into a clean, off-white dress, her short golden hair shimmering in the sunlight.

Miyano Shiho had shed the coldness and exhaustion she carried while in the Black Organization, gaining a bit of the vibrancy that belonged to her age.

Yet, in those pale blue eyes, a lingering sense of vigilance and inquiry remained hidden.

Lin Long sat on the single sofa opposite her, toying with an empty coffee cup, and looked at her with a calm expression: "Well? Have you made up your mind?"

Miyano Shiho raised her head and met his gaze.

Throughout the night, she had thought a lot—from her sister Miyano Akemi, she had learned of Lin Long's identity, how he had saved her sister from the Black Organization, and how he had orchestrated the raid on the White Dove Pharmaceutical Factory to rescue her.

This man was mysterious and powerful, and his stance was clearly in opposition to the Black Organization, which allowed her to temporarily lower some of her defenses.

More importantly, Lin Long had promised her that he would not force her to conduct any research that went against her conscience, and even supported her in developing the antidote for APTX4869, as well as other drugs that could benefit humanity.

For someone like her, who was tired of creating deadly poisons, this was undoubtedly extremely attractive, not to mention the debt of gratitude she owed Lin Long for saving her and her sister's lives.

"I've made my decision."

Miyano Shiho took a sip of coffee; the bitterness of the black coffee spread on her tongue, yet it made her thoughts clearer. "I will stay and work for you."

She paused, her gaze turning firm. "I will use my knowledge to develop the antidote for APTX4869, and I will also research drugs to treat human diseases. But I have one condition—I will absolutely not conduct any form of human experimentation again. My research must be based on ethics and conscience."

This was her bottom line.

During those years in the Black Organization, she had seen too many lives shattered by experiments; those painful wails were the nightmares that haunted her in the dead of night, and she would never let such tragedies repeat.

"Agreed."

Lin Long agreed without hesitation, his tone carrying an unquestionable certainty. "What I want is medicine that can save lives, not poison that kills. You only need to focus on the research itself; you don't need to worry about anything else."

Lin Long wanted the antidote for APTX4869 not for any specific person (such as Conan Edogawa), but because he valued the technological potential behind this drug—if the principles of a drug that could shrink a human body could be reverse-engineered, it might bring about groundbreaking progress in fields like anti-aging and cellular repair.

And Miyano Shiho's medical talent was the core value he prized even more.

A flash of surprise crossed Miyano Shiho's eyes; it seemed she hadn't expected Lin Long to be so straightforward.

She had originally prepared a whole bellyful of persuasive arguments, which now seemed somewhat superfluous.

"Then where is my research laboratory?" She put down her coffee cup and cut to the practical issues. "I need a professional laboratory, as well as some precision research equipment. Many of the models can only be bought abroad, and they are strictly controlled."

When she was in the Black Organization, she could mobilize global resources and easily obtain any equipment, but now that she had left, many things had become difficult.

"Your laboratory is in the basement."

Lin Long stood up and signaled for her to follow. "I'll take you to see it."

Miyano Shiho, along with Miyano Akemi who had rushed over upon hearing the news, followed Lin Long through the corridor to an inconspicuous metal door at the end of the living room.

Lin Long entered the password, and the heavy door slowly slid open to both sides, revealing the elevator inside.

"There are three basement levels. The lowest level is the laboratory prepared for you, with an area of about five hundred square meters, enough to accommodate all your equipment and research projects."

Lin Long pressed the button for the third basement level, and the elevator descended smoothly. "The infrastructure inside has already been equipped according to the standards of a top-tier biological laboratory. The ventilation, sterilization, and climate control systems all operate independently, and the security level is very high."

The elevator doors opened, and a breath of fresh air rushed towards them, completely devoid of the dampness and oppressiveness of a basement.

Before them was a spacious corridor with glass curtain walls on both sides. Through the walls, one could see neat laboratory benches, incubators, centrifuges, and other basic equipment inside. The pure white color scheme made the entire space look professional and clean.

Miyano Shiho walked up to the glass curtain wall, unable to hide her surprise.

Such a scale and configuration were in no way inferior to the laboratory the Black Organization had prepared for her, and even surpassed it in certain humane design details.

"This place..." She turned to look at Lin Long, her tone carrying a hint of inquiry. "You had this prepared long ago?"

"You could say that."

Lin Long smiled without going into details. In fact, this was something he had ordered the Shadow Guards and Butler Ochiai to start renovating immediately after he learned of Miyano Shiho's existence. It had taken less than a week in total, and such high efficiency was due to the execution capability of the Shadow Guards and his immense financial resources.

"As for the special equipment you need," Lin Long continued, "I will have Butler Ochiai procure it from abroad through special channels. The first batch of equipment will arrive within a week, and the rest will be filled in gradually, ensuring that your research progress will not be delayed."

His tone was casual, as if he were talking about a trivial matter, but Miyano Shiho knew how much resources and connections it would take to acquire those strictly controlled precision instruments.

This Lin Long was far more capable than she had imagined.

"Thank you," Miyano Shiho said in a low voice. This time, her tone lacked the distance and held a bit more sincerity.

"Don't thank me; you are my researcher, and it is only right to provide you with the best conditions."

Lin Long turned and walked toward the elevator. "Besides the laboratory, there is also the matter of your accommodation."

Back in the reception room, Butler Ochiai was already waiting there. Lin Long instructed him: "Ochiai, bring the blueprints for the adjacent villas we purchased."

Butler Ochiai quickly brought over several blueprints and spread them out on the coffee table.

The blueprints showed the three independent villas surrounding the main building of the Lins Office, as well as the renovation plan to connect them.

"I have already had the butler buy all these villas," Lin Long said, pointing at the blueprints for the Miyano sisters. "The renovation will start in a few days to merge them with the main building into a large manor. This will ensure security and give you enough space."

He looked at Miyano Akemi: "Before the renovation is complete, you sisters can stay in the villa on the east side; it is closest to the main building and the environment is also quite nice."

Miyano Akemi looked at the blueprints with a hesitant expression. She opened her mouth and said softly: "Mr. Lin Long, but... I am your secretary; if I live that far away, will it delay my work?"

She was already accustomed to being on call at any time and worried that living too far away would affect her work efficiency.

Lin Long looked at her earnest appearance and couldn't help but tease: "What do you mean 'far'? It's right next door, a two-minute walk away, closer than from your home to the company."

He paused, his tone becoming gentle. "Or is it that you, Akemi, are reluctant to be away from me?"

"Besides, I think since you sisters have just reunited, you need some private space; I can't keep letting you live in the staff dormitory, can I?"

Hearing Lin Long's teasing about "reluctant to be away from me" and the words "private space," Miyano Akemi's cheeks turned red instantly. Recalling the awkwardness of her and her sister squeezing into the small bed in the staff dormitory last night, it was indeed somewhat inconvenient.

She lowered her head, her voice as thin as a mosquito's hum: "Then... thank you, Mr. Lin Long."

"No need to be so polite." Lin Long waved his hand and said to Butler Ochiai, "Butler, take a few people to help the two young ladies pack their things, prepare all the daily necessities in the east villa, and buy whatever is missing."

"Yes, sir," Butler Ochiai replied respectfully.

Miyano Shiho looked at everything before her, and the last shred of doubt in her heart dissipated.

Lin Long not only gave her a safe shelter and respected her research bottom line, but also took such careful care of her and her sister's lives; this sincerity made her tense heartstrings gradually relax.

Perhaps staying here really was the right choice.

She looked at the bright sunlight outside the window, then at her sister with a gentle smile beside her, and at Lin Long, who seemed casual yet in control of everything. For the first time, her eyes were tinged with a glow called "hope."

Having escaped the shadow of the Black Organization, she could finally use her own hands to create something truly meaningful, to make up for past mistakes, and to protect the people around her.

The antidote for APTX4869, new drugs to treat diseases... the road of future research was still long.

But this time, she was no longer alone; she had her sister's support behind her, the shelter provided by Lin Long, and even more, the courage to start over.

Lin Long watched the change in Miyano Shiho's eyes and a satisfied smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

Winning over Miyano Shiho meant he had gained another trump card on the path to opposing the Black Organization. More importantly, the addition of this genius scientist would inject new vitality into his forces.

Next, he only needed to patiently wait for her research results, while simultaneously dealing with any possible counterattacks from Gin.

And all of this was just the beginning.